Friend Testifies Defendant Admitted Killing Stepdaughter

Wednesday, January 26th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A friend of murder defendant Oscar Patterson testified against him Wednesday. Paul Bryan told the Tulsa jury that Patterson admitted to him that he raped and killed his stepdaughter, Tiffany Beverly.

Bryan said he and Patterson shared a love of raising and training pit bulls. He said that one night at a party, when they were drinking beer and bourbon, Patterson revealed a deep, dark secret. Bryan testified Patterson told him he'd taken Beverly to run his dogs and then had sex with her. She fought with him. He hit her over the head several times with a tire iron, for fear she'd tell her mother about the rape. The beating killed her.

Patterson kept his head down and took notes during the testimony. His attorneys spent hours trying to pick Bryan's story a part. They argued that if Patterson didn't trust him so far as to take Bryan to his dog kennel, then why would he trust him enough to admit a murder?

Prosecutors argued that Bryan didn't receive any benefit from telling the story and that he had no motive for making it up. Patterson's attorneys believe police essentially told Bryan what to say because they wanted so badly to prove Patterson's guilt. The police officers who testified Wednesday denied that theory and showed their videotaped interviews to prove their point.

Patterson's trial continues Thursday. Prosecutors say they'll call another friend who says Patterson also confessed to him.